


H is for History

by Tallulah_Rasa



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Gen, History, Letters, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 08:50:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6111346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallulah_Rasa/pseuds/Tallulah_Rasa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Historians use primary sources to better understand the past.  For a 22nd century historian, what better primary sources could there be than the recently published letters and journals of Dr. Daniel Jackson?</p>
            </blockquote>





	H is for History

**Author's Note:**

> For Fig's February, 2016 "Epistolary" Alphabet Soup. Many thanks to IvoryGates for graciously providing a near instantaneous beta, thoughtful commentary, and interesting discussion. All errors, un-funny jokes, and unclear thoughts are, of course, down to me. Some explanatory notes are at the end, if you're interested.

 

 

Memo

To: Dr. Benjamin John, Editor, Ph.D.,  _Journal of Historical Research and Theory_

From: Dr. Janet S. Rehs-Fargler, Ph.D.

Date: December 9, 2116

Subject: Book review for upcoming issue

 

Ben—

It was great to see you at the conference last month!  I’m so glad you decided to go ahead with the special issue on 20th Century figures.  Understanding the motives and personalities of these people — not to mention what they chose to write about — can, I think, shed real light on current world and galactic affairs, and help us see not only how we got here, but why.

Here’s the draft of the article we talked about.  Thanks again for taking my suggestion about the book; as you guessed, the subject’s a particular interest of mine.  I’ve added an author’s note relating to that at the end, but read the article first, okay?

I’ll be tied up grading exams for the next few weeks (time marches on, but academia never changes), but we can talk after the first of the year.  In the meantime, say hi to Chris and the kids!

Jan

 

 

 

**On a Kind of Telephone Line Through Time**

a review of

_As It Was Written:_

_Selected Letters and Journal Entries of Dr. Daniel Jackson_

_Volume 1: 1994-2004_

edited by Dr. Adam Pierson

October, 2116.   534 pp.

Terran Edition:  University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, USA.

Interstellar Editions: Amazon-Google Press, New York and Atlantis.

USBN: Tn376 42300 6738

 

 

History, they say, is written by the victors.  It’s also written by those keen observers who, despite an uncertainty about (or disregard for) the definition of "victory," persevere through seemingly insurmountable challenges to leave a record of their times, in the process weaving a story that echoes throughout other times and places.  

Dr. Daniel Jackson (1964-2002, 2004-2060) was such an observer.  Now widely accepted as the human who "opened" the first Earth Stargate – though a small but persistent community insists that cultural mores of the times gave credit to Dr. Jackson for accomplishments that should be attributed to Dr. Samantha Carter and/or Dr. Catherine Langford -- Dr. Jackson was an archeologist, anthropologist, linguist, author, and explorer.  He was also, apparently, a indefatigable diarist, producing a voluminous series of hand-written journals during his life.  In addition, Jackson was a prolific letter-writer, penning hand-written missives to academic publications, politicians, professional associates, co-workers, and friends long after the advent of widespread and secure digital communications.  

These writing have been ably collected and edited by Dr. Adam Pierson, best known for  "Inscribed,"(2110), his glowingly reviewed examination of Egyptian culture during the reign of the Pharaohs, and "With a Little Help From Their Friends," last year's account of the stagehands at the 20th century Woodstock music festival.  Dr. Pierson was tireless in tracking down caches of Dr. Jackson’s writings, some of which had been secreted away by executors of Dr. Jackson’s estate and then passed down through the generations.  Persistent in wresting permissions from current holders of these letters and journals, Dr. Pierson has managed to compile a truly remarkable collection.   He has also managed to refrain from adding his own interpretation to the text, letting Dr. Jackson’s words  speak — or babble, rant, or seduce — for themselves.

While much is known today about the original Stargate program and those involved with it, some possibly key events and people are still shrouded in mystery.  Documentaries and books have illuminated such names as Carter, Fraiser, Maybourne, Woolsey, and Weir, but Daniel Jackson was famously private, and his privacy — like that of his cohorts Jonathan "Jack" O’Neill and Rodney McKay — was protected not only by his coworkers, but by his legatees, and by the generations that followed.  Attacks on Cheyenne Mountain during the Great Galactic War (2028-2033, Terran Std.) further clouded the public’s understanding of Dr. Jackson, destroying as they did virtually all procedural, medical, and administrative records at the SGC base.  It’s a treat, then, to see the advent of the program, and its first few years, through Daniel Jackson’s intelligent and always passionate eyes.  From dry asides in his journal, such as:

 

_"…The Gate, when activated, appears as a vortex of water, which bursts out with a lethal force before settling into a somewhat calmer surface.  Jack describes it as a giant exploding toilet."_

 

to meticulous measurements of artifacts found on other worlds, to fascinated speculation about alien cultures, Dr. Jackson’s writings reveal him to be a complicated man with an insatiable curiosity and an impulsive --  and somewhat melodramatic --personality.   Early letters to Dr. Catherine Langford, a noted archeologist and perhaps a mentor to Dr. Jackson, are surprisingly metaphorical, and often poetic.  In one, he writes:

 

_"…To have a universe of knowledge at your fingertips and to sacrifice it for love seems, in retrospect, the wisest course.  You were pulled by a forcefield, a complicated mesh of belief and memory; I was motivated by a sorry mix of tissues and the need to understand — well, everything."_

 

Not the standard language of a scientist, even a social scientist, to a colleague!  Interestingly, this is also not Dr. Jackson’s only mention of tissue or tissues; he uses the imagery of "a box of Kleenex" over and over again.  The meaning of this symbol is tantalizingly unclear, though many academics have concluded that Jackson’s research was underwritten by a major 20th century corporation, perhaps Kimberly-Clark or Proctor&Gamble.

Contemporary with these early letters is another series of letters, never sent, to a person identified only as "Sha’re." While Dr. Jackson addresses Sha’re in his journals as well, these letters — which range over the course of several years — offer another fascinating glimpse of Jackson the man.  Jackson’s relationship to Sha’re is never made clear, and Dr. Pierson declines to cast a vote as to whether Sha’re is a figment of Dr. Jackson’s imagination, an aspect of his own personality, or an unrequited love from one of his graduate student "digs" in Egypt.  Excerpts from his letters, ordered chronologically,  might support any interpretation.  They, too, make heavy use of metaphorical language: 

 

_"…you were ripped from your home, from your_ **_self_ ** _, because of me.  But dwelling on that isn’t useful; you’d be the first to tell me that, I know.  If I’m going to help you, I have to focus on what_ **_is_ ** _useful, and not what you feel, or if you remember.  Is it selfish to hope you don’t feel, and don’t remember?  Or is it selfish to hope that you do?"_

 

_"I don’t know if you’ll ever see these letters.  It’s strange to think you once wouldn’t have recognized what they are.  I taught you to read, and you taught me to see.  I thought I understood the risk, but I was wrong."_

 

_"Now that you’re truly gone…no, that’s not right.  You’re a part of me, and you were right from the beginning.  That should be comforting, but I think I’m going to be haunted, forever, by your ghost, or maybe just by the ghost of what might have been for you, and for me, if instead of asking why I’d just said no."_

 

Other letters hint at a love affair which put Jackson in conflict with the Stargate program.  These letters — also, apparently, unsent — were addressed simply to "Oma."  Surviving records from other SGC members, and Jackson’s own journals, indicate that at one point Jackson actually left the SGC because of, or perhaps at the behest of, Oma.  He returned after a year, and his writings from this time speak of heartbreak and confusion.  He repeatedly describes himself as "cast out," and his journals contain several versions of the following sentiment, with the now familiar poetic, metaphorical prose:

 

_"I can’t remember who I was before, what I enjoyed, what I did, how I lived.  I’m struggling to reconcile what I know — Jack’s moods, how to translate a fragment of text, what to avoid in the commissary — with the person everyone here remembers and expects me to be.  Being a shepherd would be easier, though I don’t think anyone here would allow that.  And it seems there_ **_is_ ** _a job to do here, an important one, so I’ll lace up my boots (assuming I can remember where to find them) and try to carry on._

 

But Jackson’s life was not all angst, poetry, and drama.  A series of rather prosaic letters written to his friend and commanding officer, Colonel (as he was then) Jonathan "Jack" O’Neill, detail the ongoing efforts to fix a computer software glitch during a three-month period while O’Neill was away from the SGC.  Each letter ends with a somewhat detailed, if muddled, account of a current sports event, with particular emphasis on what appears to be Dr. Jackson’s abiding interest, NHL (Terran-U.S.) ice hockey.  One of Dr. Pierson’s rare asides occurs here, noting that these well-worn letters were accompanied by a series of unsent letters from Col. O’Neill to Dr. Jackson, covering roughly the year Jackson left the SGC.  By the terms of Col. O’Neill’s will, these letters are still embargoed.

In addition to sports, Jackson shared another common male passion of the era.  Running notes on the SGC’s daily routines include many comments like the following:

 

_"After the fire was contained, Sgt. Siler showed up…with the usual wrench, and a new assistant."_

 

_"Sam couldn’t get the machine to reboot, but Siler’s wrench saved the day."_

 

_"Siler led the crew doing routine maintenance in my lab this morning, and I have to concede that Sam and Jack are right about the man and his wrench."_

 

Clearly, Jackson had a practical side, or a fascination with basic tools.

It’s often noted that individual caught up in historic events may be unaware of the magnitude of the changes around them, or of their own roles in these changes.  Primary sources often reveal a subject’s focus on mundane matters — a child’s cold, the need for new boots — while events explode around them.  Jackson’s journals are no exception, often delving into personal rather than global or galactic issues.  At times he seems unaware of world events.  During the summer of 2000, for instance, during a heated political campaign for President of the United States, Jackson described only one seemingly political act, and briefly at that:

 

_"The four of us wore the armbands Anise gave us to O'Malley’s.  It was an interesting evening.  We won’t be going back.  It’s a shame; their steaks are really good."_

 

Jackson can also seem oblivious to the implications of SGC "missions."   Several of his journal entries throw light on a contentious aspect of the SGC program:  its effect on inhabitants of other planets.  He appears to be unconcerned, however,  in this description of a first-contact situation off-world:

 

_I don’t do a very good impression of a drone.  Of course, it’s difficult to communicate at the best of time; without a shared vocabulary, story, or belief system, it may be impossible.  Judging from my relationship with Jack, it may be impossible even if you_ _do_ _share all those things.  We spent the morning arguing like children, but unfortunately he has no understanding of the "fairy tales" that might explain that, or of the "rumors and lies" that would help us better understand this place._

 

To be fair, Jackson was among the first off-world explorers, and it’s easy to see how the excitement of that early experience might have outweighed moral considerations.  And certainly, the fact that Jackson was one of the negotiators and signatories of the Galactic Accords of 2039 speaks to a later awakening of high-level diplomatic skill and cultural understanding.

What, then, can we make of the personal papers of this brilliant, enigmatic figure?  Did his foibles and talents shape his times, or was he just one of many shaped by events beyond his control?  Galactic historians — and those merely interested in SGC history — will find much to explore in Dr. Pierson’s fascinating new book, and in the subsequent volumes that are no doubt to come.  

History knows Dr. Daniel Jackson for his role in the early days of the SGC.  It may well be, however, that Dr. Jackson's true legacy is in these pages, contributing as they do to our ongoing debate about the nature of truth, of point of view, of history itself.  Dr. Jackson traveled the stars to better understand the universe.  It seems that, in the course, he discovered just how difficult it is to understand oneself.  History, even in the age of intergalactic travel, appears to return to one truth: that the most foreign country, in the end, is within.

 

(End of article)

 

A/N:  Ben, as you no doubt guessed at this point, some of Dr. Jackson’s letters and journals were in my family’s keeping, passed down from my great-great-great-grandmother, Janet Fraiser.  (Side note: You once asked me if all my relatives are named Janet or Cassandra.  No, some are named Samantha.  Also, before you ask, I was told that, despite the colorful stories otherwise, my great-great grandmother Cassie Fraiser was born in Canada.)  

Daniel Jackson’s letters and journals were written in a derivation of Ancient Egyptian which no one was ever able to identify, much less translate.  My family allowed Dr. Pierson access to the papers in part because he _was_ able to translate them.  I trust his translation; the Dean of Terran Ancient Cultures and Antiquities at the University of Chicago says Pierson’s skills are extraordinary.  And as I mentioned, Pierson was very persuasive.

As you might imagine, I called on some family stories in writing this article.  I’d rather not disclose my relationship to Janet Fraiser — you know what the press is like.  Let me know if that’s a problem for you and the _Journal._

 

END

 

**Author's Note:**

> The format of this was influenced by the London Review of Books, though the LRB's a lot more interesting (and better researched.) The tone, on the other hand, was influenced by my constant sense of "No, wait, that's not what it was like…" while reading obits of Glenn Frey and David Bowie. If you feel this "book review" was misguided or factually wrong in places, there's a reason or that. *g* (For the record, I think Daniel's sane, and pretty matter-of-fact, all things considered.)
> 
> "On a kind of a telephone line through time" is a line from The Indigo Girls' "Virginia Woolf," which is about reading a diary from an earlier era and discovering a kindred spirit.
> 
> Not that you need to know this, but Dr. Adam Pierson is 5,000 years old; he’s the oldest living Immortal in the "Highlander" TV series. He is, as you might imagine, a scholar of ancient languages and civilizations. (He was also a stagehand at Woodstock.) I always imagined he'd find a way to get a job with the SGC.
> 
> SG-1 eps referenced: "One False Step" ("rumors, lies and fairytales"), "Upgrades" (Anise's armbands), "A Hundred Days" (Jack stuck on Edora), and "Fallen"/"Homecoming," plus everything to do with Sha're.
> 
> Janet S. Rehs-Fargler is named for Janet and Sam. "Rehs" is a Rasa family joke. "Fargler" is for Vicki and Erin, who are fond of Adam Pierson. *g*


End file.
